Don TreegerNancy Pratt with her dog "Kiltie II" in their Belchertown home.

Nancy Pratt knows the healing power of pets.

Pratt adopted her dog, Kiltie, when she knew a canine companion would be good for her husband.

She felt that a lively puppy would be nourishing while he was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.

“The breeder put the puppy in my hand and it licked my face. When she put the puppy in my husband’s hand, it did the same thing,” said Pratt.

“My husband instantly fell in love with the dog and the breeder said, ‘You know, you don’t pick a puppy, the puppy picks you.’”

Kiltie, a brindle Scottish terrier, was best friend to her husband, the late Edward Pratt, former head of the science department at Longmeadow High, as he suffered through three long years with Alzheimer’s.

When he was moved to a full-time care facility, Pratt and the dog would visit daily. Soon, the other residents would look forward to visiting each day with the little ball of happiness.

Photo by SARAH PLATANITISNancy Pratt and Kiltie II, her Scottish terrier, pose for a photo with Sister of St. Joseph Kathleen McGurk, seated, and Elaine Cat, activity director and volunteer coordinator at Mount Marie Health Center in Holyoke.

“Everyone loved to see Kiltie and, after my husband died, the thought came to me to continue doing this since it was working so well with people,” said Pratt, a retired teacher, whose husband died in July of 2008.

Pratt contacted the Sister of St. Joseph Betsy Sullivan, administrator of the Mont Marie Health Care Center, the congregation’s sponsored ministry in Holyoke, and soon the pup had a new hobby, visiting the Sisters and lay people at the 84-bed licensed and certified skilled nursing facility.

Pratt and Kiltie pay a visit every Monday and have done so for almost three years.

“Nancy is just an amazing volunteer. She’s devoted and faithful,” said Elaine Cat, activity director and volunteer coordinator.

“Kiltie is so friendly and brings many smiles to everyone’s faces. Even people who aren’t much of an animal lover, they just smile because she’s so darn cute.”

Kiltie eagerly leads his owner to each of the rooms on all three floors of the facility, originally built as an infirmary for the Sisters and open to the public since 1995.

The pair spend as much time as possible with each resident.

“A couple people here are unresponsive but improve when the dog is near them,” Pratt said.

“One person had a stroke and the only emotions she has is when she touches the dog. Another woman can’t speak so well but she’s able to focus and tell the dog that she’s beautiful.”

Pratt brings gifts to the residents on their birthdays, balloons and other surprises like fresh-picked flowers in the summer time and pumpkins at Halloween.

She also delivers amusing holiday cards featuring Kiltie to the residents and administration department.

The one at Easter this year featured a card that said “I hope the Bunny has kibble-flavored Easter eggs” with a photo of Kiltie nuzzling at standing bunny holding a basket of eggs.

Kiltie, officially registered under the name Rococo’s Kiltie II, is five years old.

Her breed was very popular in the early 1900s but now people often ask Pratt what kind of dog she owns.

Pratt says Kiltie, who comes from a line of champion show dogs, likes people of all ages and seems to follow conversations, especially if she thinks they might be about her and the possibility of visitors or presents.

“Kiltie is very bright and we almost have to spell names and things. If we don’t, she thinks they’re coming to visit or that she’s getting something,” said Pratt.

“She knows when we get off the highway where we’re going and gets very excited to come to the Mont.”

Pratt says Kiltie particularly likes going to the center because of the welcome she gets there, where people give her pats and tell her that she’s pretty.

Pratt acknowledges she enjoys the outings too.

“I think that when you do something for someone else, you are the beneficiary as well as the other person,” said Pratt.

“I always go home smiling and thinking over the visits.”

Pratt, born in Belchertown, had a veterinarian father who instilled in her a life-long love for animals

. Over the years, she has had many dogs but Kiltie is the first Scottie she has had since her childhood. Her first dog, the original Kiltie, was a Scottie.

Both Pratt and Kiltie II are indeed much welcomed at Mont Marie.

“This is a health care center and lots of people spend their last days here. Many of the people Nancy was devoted to have passed on. That’s the hard part of being a volunteer,” said Cat, who has worked at Mont Marie for 19 years this month.

“Still, she and Kiltie keep coming and making new friends. It’s wonderful to work with them. We’re all really blessed to have a volunteer like her.”